


In the Bleak Midwinter

by silversky



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Identity Reveal, but only technically, greatly inspired by how cold I've been this winter, mlsecretsanta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 03:55:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9054358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silversky/pseuds/silversky
Summary: A burning question.An icy night.Marinette is not prepared.





	

**Author's Note:**

> My gift for mystiq-skull for the Miraculous Ladybug Secret Santa. Special thanks to i-am-the-diabolus for battling commas (my eternal nemesis) and reassuring me that, yes, this was actually decent. Thank you also to the mods, for dealing with my procrastinating ass and putting this whole thing together. Written while listening to beauty that is the Yuri on Ice soundtrack.

The blackened remains of the column before her were dusted with snow. It made them look innocent, nothing like the product of destructive magic. Marinette watched as the blinking lights on the massive tree in the center of the plaza turned the white into a rainbow. She frowned, brushing the covering aside to better stare at broken stone beneath. The night’s beauty didn’t deter her from the worry that gnawed at her mind.

Chat had used his Cataclysm. The more she thought about the mystery the more it bothered her. Everything had made sense when she’d assumed he’d been fighting an akuma, but no longer. Until Ladybug had stepped in, the man playing Santa had been just a man. Until that akuma had showed up, Adrien had been in no danger. So what had happened? Why had Chat even been with Adrien that night? Something else had to be going on, but what?

The yoyo at her side beckoned. She could call her partner, ask him again for details. There was no reason to think he’d hide the truth, right? But a part of Marinette balked at the idea. She and Chat had decided not to patrol that night, there not being any signs of havoc in the city nor Hawkmoth being likely to create another akuma so soon after his latest failure. The boy was probably at home, enjoying the time off and holiday air. Neither of them had discussed their Christmas plans for fear of revealing something too specific about their civilian identities, but Marinette was sure Chat’s evenings would be anything but idle. He was too enthusiastic about every aspect of life to let a holiday based on warmth and cheer pass by quietly.

Contacting him in that environment for simple conversation crossed a line Marinette was wary to break. It was already so hard to keep her personal life from drifting into her superhero one; spending a cold night chatting with the boy unknowingly competing with Alya for the title of her best friend might very well be the thing to shatter her resolve. She was busy enough fighting the urge to invite Chat out for a private Christmas celebration, her mind filled with images of them drinking cocoa and sharing gifts at the top of the Eiffel Tower. The intimacy was dangerous…and dangerously appealing. Better to leave him out of things for now.

A sudden gust of wind sent Marinette into shivers and out of her thoughts of Chat. Her suit protected her from the worst of the cold, but it seemed not even Tikki’s magic could keep her warm in the dead of winter. She kicked at the crumbled cement before her, frustrated. Here she was, out in the city in the middle of the night, chasing after a mystery with no leads for no real reason. And no, her obsession with all things Adrien was not a good enough reason to abandon her warm bed. He was fine, and she had better things to be doing than freezing her fingers off while thinking about boys.

Marinette paused, grasping onto a possibility. Chat might not be an option, but there had been two boys out that night. Two boys, equally likely to have answers to the questions keeping her awake. And, though she loved him dearly, Marinette wasn’t afraid to use Adrien’s awe of her superhero persona to her advantage. If it meant quick answers she’d turn the charm up as high as necessary.

“Sorry, Tikki,” Marinette whispered, pulling out her yoyo. “Looks like we’ll be taking a detour before we go back home.”

It was a matter of minutes to reach the Agreste mansion, the path long since memorized by both Marinette and Ladybug. The building loomed out of the shadows as she approached across the rooftops. It would have been a breathtaking sight, even in Paris, if not for the numerous bars and alarms on every corner. As it was, Marinette couldn't shake its resemblance to a prison—harsh, unfeeling, frozen in time. Her skin prickled.

“Here we go,” she breathed before the last jump. The gap between the mansion and the nearest building was no issue. Once her yoyo’s grip on a protruding chimney was secure she leapt, letting the string she trusted with so much pull her through open air to land noiselessly on the rooftop. To her left a security camera blinked, slowly turning her way. Marinette ducked out of view. She didn't know why it felt so important to be unseen, only that every one of her instincts was on edge. Discretion seemed the best option.

Now to find Adrien's room. She'd been there before (a fact that still set her heart racing), but things looked different in the darkness. Every sweeping window was a mirror, a murky reflection of her spotted red suit, so out of place amidst all the white and grey. No sound reached Marinette’s ears but the howling wind. Even the distant rumble of a city that never truly slept had been muted to nothingness by the snow. The night felt eerie, otherworldly, wrapping her in silence and solitude. It was as if she were in foreign territory, the very atmosphere unfamiliar. She shivered again, then pressed forward.

There! Rounding the side of the building, Marinette focused on a single lit window. Relief at getting out of the overbearing night swelled as she rushed to it. Peering inside confirmed her guess. The cavernous room was the same one she’d seen protecting Adrien from Jack-a-dit, and again from Lila. Though scarcely illuminated, she could still make out the mess of equipment and toys a normal child wouldn’t have dared wish for. Most everything looked unmoved since her last visit and the knowledge of Adrien’s packed schedule poked insistently at Marinette. What a shame, to have everything except the chance to have fun.

The wall of glass chilled her fingertips as she pressed along it, searching inside for a sign of Adrien’s whereabouts. Thankfully his light being on suggested he was awake. Popping in for a late-night interview was already an imposition Marinette was starting to regret; it was rude, and she grew more tired and cold the longer she stayed outside. Actually waking Adrien up because of her impulsive decision was out of the question. What she could see of the room through the frost coating the glass though gave her no clues. The lights were on, but no one was home.

Marinette shuffled a little further along the windowsill before daring a knock. Surprisingly the pane shifted, then swung inwards as she pushed. Adrien kept his window unlocked? As a semi-regular akuma target, that was just asking for trouble, security system or not. Akumas weren't usually deterred by such mundane things as glass and metal, but civilians could never be too cautious. The cavalier attitude was a strange contrast to his father's hypervigilant behavior. But no matter—it meant Marinette could slip inside, away from the chilling wind that was making a home in her bones, and continue her mission.

A voice inside Marinette's head pointed out that sneaking into someone's house to satisfy her curiosity probably wasn't superhero behavior. It sounded a lot like Tikki would, she imagined, if her kwami mastered the art of talking while powering her transformation. As things were, Marinette chalked it up to her conscience…and promptly ignored it. She'd already come this far; turning back now was like admitting defeat, and that was never an option she'd willingly take.

“Adrien?” she called out, balanced precariously in the open window. No reply. She dropped down inside. “It's Ladybug. I’m sorry to bother you so late, I just have some ques—”

Marinette couldn't say what it was that made her stop. The room seemed clear, if lonely as ever and unusually cold. But there was something, something intangible, instinctual, that locked her throat. And that's when she saw it.

The glitter of snow drifting from the ceiling.

An automatic leap had her across the room, hanging from the rock wall—or trying to. Clinging to each handhold was a thin layer of frost, unnoticeable from a distance and deceptively slippery. Her fingers clawed uselessly at the unyielding plastic, and then she was in the air again. Marinette awkwardly righted herself as she fell, barely managing to keep her feet when she landed on the slick floor, and made herself still. Her heart screamed to find Adrien, to make sure he was safe and far away from what must be yet another akuma, but that couldn’t be her priority. Ladybug’s job was protecting _all_ of Paris, not just her crush. Instead she slowed, taking stock of the situation.

Everything was frozen. Now that she knew what she was looking for, the icy nature of her surroundings was obvious. Pointed icicles hung from the overhanging zipline. Frost curled intricately across the surface of Adrien's wall of monitors. The chill that had plagued Marinette as she approached the mansion was stronger than ever, her pants of exertion turning into swirling clouds. Even the air was harsh, each breath a struggle against the cold around her. Still, nothing seemed to be purposefully antagonistic, neither the artificial weather nor the hidden akumatized cause. There was just the ice and snow, passively taking over the room.

“Winter akuma,” Marinette muttered, flipping open her yoyo with numb fingers. “Wonderful. At least it fits the theme. Maybe it can be defeated by a space heater. Or a hot meal.”

Caught in a fantasy of her Lucky Charm turning into a fluffy lined jacket, it took Marinette a moment to realize her call to Chat wasn’t working. Even when untransformed, their Miraculouses always alerted them if their partner was trying to get in contact. It was impossible to ignore or sleep through, a call that resonated past the physical into the magic that was their gift. And yet there was no response, not even the buzz they’d learned they could induce as a reply when their civilian life was impossible to escape. Her yoyo’s screen was dark. This was more than Chat not picking up—it was as if he wasn’t there at all.

Something heavy settled in Marinette’s gut. Not fear (she knew fear, knew the heart-pounding exhilaration of pushing through it to reach her goals, and the aching frustration when she let it overwhelm her), but dread. Adrien was in trouble. Chat was missing. There was an akuma loose that had done nothing but hide and freeze. She didn’t understand what was going on and she was on her own to figure it out.

Marinette growled. She wouldn’t allow herself to be distracted by worry. Anger bubbled up to replace the hesitance that too often held her back as a civilian. “Where are you?!” she shouted, spinning in frustration. The room had stayed empty, no change but the slowly growing piles of snow. “Where are they?!”

Nothing.

“You want my Miraculous don’t you?” The akuma had to be in the mansion. The strength of its chilling effect had correlated with her distance from the building, so it was here that it must’ve made its base. She crept further into the room, yoyo ready to lash out at the slightest movement. “Your boss is gonna be disappointed if you spend your time freezing the place instead of taking it!”

Nothing. No brainwashed victims jumped out to attack when she reached the door to the hallway. No trap was sprung by her exiting Adrien’s room. It just got colder, enough so that Marinette’s magically protected body still felt stiff and heavy. “I k-k-know you’re out-t-t here.” Even her teeth were chattering.

Something flickered in the corner of Marinette’s eye. She struck, sending her yoyo out in a blur of red to fend off her attacker. Finally, the akuma!

A small thud sounded when it hit the wall, then an echoing clatter as it fell to the icy floor. The hallway was lifeless, barren. She was alone.

“Don’t-t-t play g-g-games.” The cold air burned her lungs as she spoke. It dawned on Marinette that, no matter her Miraculous’s power, she couldn’t take this for much longer. And if she was so affected, the safety of anyone in the building not protected by a kwami…

“Adrien!”

Marinette abandoned her caution, darting down the hallway as fast as her frozen footholds allowed. To her knowledge she’d only had to use her Lucky Charm to repair damage to inanimate objects. No people had ever been injured by an akuma badly enough that they’d need magical healing. There was no telling if her power extended to that level, or if it could fix worse. Hypothermia was deadly, and it was anyone’s guess how long this akuma had been at work. The very real possibility that she was already too late roared in Marinette’s head.

A final turn had Marinette stumbling to a stop in the entrance to the main dining hall. Her run thus far had been in near darkness, the light from Adrien’s room only illuminating a scant portion of the unlit hallway. This room though, had a wall of windows. Moonlight shone through, making the ice coating every surface softly gleam. Able to see clearly at last, Marinette noticed that the ice here was different, thicker and darker. Ugly white stripes pulsed through it in a slow double time. They stretched out in all directions, inching away from their source by the glistening windows. Marinette stepped closer to get a better look, avoiding the veins that wriggled as she passed. She rounded the table.

And screamed.

She’d found Adrien.

“No! Oh no no no.” No longer caring about the strange brightness in the ice, Marinette lurched forward the last few feet. Her hands hit the massive block of ice with a horrible slap. Adrien stared back at her, unseeing, but not unmoving. His whole body was twitching, shifting in time with the twisting pulses that emanated from his form. Gloved hands clenched his hair, the fabric white one moment, black the next. The ice encasing him glowed a sickly purple, the shade terribly easy to recognize. It was Hawkmoth’s color.

Adrien was the akuma.

Tears spilled down Marinette’s cheeks and immediately froze, leaving stinging droplets on her face. How had this happened? Just days ago they’d all been in this room together, celebrating Adrien’s return. He’d smiled more that night than she saw him smile in a usual week.  He’d been happy. He’d been safe. But now his face was wrenched in a frightful grimace beneath an inch of magical ice.

“Sacré bleu, you run fast.”

Once, when Marinette was very young, a mouse had died in her room. Her shrieks when she saw the body laid out cold on the rug had convinced her parents she was either dying or being kidnapped. People on the street had run into the bakery to see if the police needed to be called. Over the years the noise had been classed by her family as the single loudest, most high-pitched sound to ever come out of her mouth.

Marinette was pretty sure she’d just surpassed that record by a couple decimals.

Heart close to beating its way right out of her chest, Marinette whirled around. Pain for Adrien overwhelmed her, but she wouldn’t let herself be taken down by inattention. The momentum whipped her pigtails across her face and sent her feet skidding. She wavered. She slipped. She hit the ground, air escaping her lungs in a heavy mist.

It was difficult to make out details through the dim light and her spinning vision, but floating above her, Marinette saw a black splotch. Drifting closer, it revealed itself to have luminescent green eyes, their glow unnerving. She scooted backwards, wincing when she hit a freezing block that had to be Adrien. The ice was all around her now and she could feel it draining her, the cold keeping her from leaping up and facing this new threat. “St-t-tay away.”

Instead the thing zoomed closer. “And leave you two kids to freeze? I don’t think so.” It shook its oversized head, baring its teeth in an inhuman mockery of a laugh. “Now c’mon. We don’t have much time before Adrien stops being able to fight back.”

Fight back? Marinette stared up at the frozen boy behind her. He looked to be in pain, but all akuma victims were to some degree—that was the basis for their vulnerability after all. What was this creature talking about?

“He froze himself, you idiot.” The thing gestured at Adrien. “Before Hawkmoth could completely take over. But that strength can only last so long, especially without me to help him. You need to cleanse him before he wakes up. You’re in no condition to take him, not alone.”

Alone. That was right. “Chat,” she slurred, pushing herself to her feet. It was harder than she expected, her limbs weak and unresponsive, her thoughts blurry. “He’s gone.”

“Crap.” Her vision swam as the black creature darted up by her face. “Your lips are blue. Hey, focus on me kiddo, you got that?”

Marinette nodded. Everything was too much, her fear and sorrow making her ache, the cold making her want to curl up and sleep. But she could follow instructions. “Okay.”

“Good,” the thing said reassuringly. “Now get out your Lucky Charm.”

The toss was a pale comparison to her usual summoning, but it got the job done. Marinette put out her hands to catch the falling…

“Wow. A flamethrower.” Her companion zipped down to pat it approvingly. “Tikki’s not screwing around.”

Magic still flooding through her body, Marinette felt herself regain a smidge of energy. Her mind cleared and she glared at floating thing. “What are you?” she snapped, pulling away. “How do you know about Tikki?”

“My name is Plagg, and this is not the time!” Plagg hissed. “Do you want to turn into an icicle? Either get to his hand or I’ll find a way to save him myself.”

In normal circumstances Marinette wouldn’t let herself be pushed around. She was bursting with questions and this Plagg was ringing a bell of familiarity she yearned to follow. But she was surrounded by danger and she could already feel the cold creeping back in, her thoughts becoming sluggish. Plagg was right, there wasn’t time. “It’s on his hand-d-d?” she replied, pointing the flamethrower at Adrien. In the time she’d looked away the costume that had to be his akuma form had spread, white now covering all of his upper body. The black was gone. “Which?”

“Thatagirl.” Plagg grinned, a pointed thing that would’ve made Marinette shiver if she wasn’t already doing so constantly. “Right hand. It’s the ring.”

Marinette stepped back, bracing herself firmly against the frozen table. “You b-b-better be right-t-t.” She pressed the trigger.

A long stream of flame burst from the nozzle, stretching out to lick against the ice. The heat was painful after so long in the cold. Marinette’s skin buzzed as blood rushed back into her extremities. Her feet immediately became soaked as the ice around her melted to still bitingly chilly water. And before her, for the first time, Adrien’s face moved. As the ice around him shrank away his eyes rose to meet hers, an unnatural grin taking shape.

“Oh no,” Plagg yelped. “Too late.”

Marinette barely had time to drop the flamethrower before the ice cracked, falling away in jagged chunks as Adrien leapt. A clawed hand wrapped around her throat (his left one, she noticed distantly). Pointed teeth were bared as the last of his transformation finished, a mask shimmering into place that turned him into something devastatingly familiar.

“Chaton?” she squeaked.

“Not quite, my lady.” He pushed her further against the table, ignoring Marinette’s feeble kicks and shoves. After so long in the cold her limbs were too weak to put up much of a fight. “The name’s Chat Blanc.”

“I know imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but this is just insulting.” Both superheroes looked up, just in time to see Plagg land on Chat Blanc’s hand, the one raised in a chilling mockery of Chat Noir’s Cataclysm. “I expect a roomful of cheese for this,” he growled, then vanished.

Chat Blanc immediately let go, doubling over as black swirled across his costume. A purple mask formed over his eyes, but he ignored it, dropping to his knees and moaning. Marinette gasped in relief, hands instinctively rising to her bruised throat.

It was tempting to fall over as well, the adrenaline of danger long since overrun by exhaustion. Instead she tottered forward, grabbing the hand with Chat Blanc’s (Chat Noir’s? Adrien’s? What was she supposed to call him, this boy who’d been forced to reveal himself?) ring. Green eyes stared up at her. “Ladybug,” he choked. “Please.”

“Don’t worry Adrien,” she whispered. “I’ve got you.”

Then she pulled, yanking off the ring and slamming it against the ground with all the strength she had left. For a moment she was afraid it wasn’t enough. Maybe the magic of a Miraculous meant more was needed to expel an akuma. But, finally, the space between her hand and the ice shone, a black butterfly slipping out from her fingers. It was all the opportunity Marinette needed. Her yoyo shot forward, snapping up the creature and returning to her empty hand.

“Goodbye, little butterfly.”

One last thing to do. To her right lay the flamethrower, the pink lining glaringly bright. She crawled over to it, half-melted shards of ice digging into her knees. There was nothing left in her, but she still lifted it above her head. She could do this.

“That’s it.” Marinette felt Plagg land on her shoulder. He sounded almost tireder than she felt, but he still murmured encouragement. “Say the words.”

Marinette clenched her eyes shut and shouted. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

Warmth exploded from her hand. It rushed around her, drying her skin and healing the little pricks she’d been too numb to notice. Opening her eyes she could see pink flashes setting the room to rights, ice and snow disappearing without a trace. She turned, at last checking on Adrien, anxiety burrowing into her freshly energized mind.

He lay on the floor, eyes wide, chest heaving as her sparkling power danced across his form.  Plagg zipped away from Marinette as Adrien looked up, slamming into the boy's face. “Never do that again!” he shouted.

Adrien actually laughed, his hands cupping what Marinette realized must be his kwami as he hiccupped into the creature's fur. “I don't plan on it.”

A shrill beeping filled the air, catching everyone's attention. For the first time since she’d cleansed him Adrien looked in Marinette’s direction. His face grew paler as he realized what the sound meant. Marinette pressed a finger to her earring and a helpless giggle escaped her lips. She was in no shape to leave, and Adrien was in no shape to be left alone. “Identity in return for identity I guess.”

“Ladybug.” Adrien shook his head, struggling into a sitting position. “You don't have to. Not after…it’s my fault…”

“It's alright,” Marinette said. It really was. She hadn't had time to completely process what Adrien being Chat meant to her, but she could feel happiness settling into her tired bones. Even though it stemmed from a horrible night, Marinette knew with all her heart that this was a good thing. “I trust you.”

Adrien's jaw went slack as her transformation faded. Tikki nuzzled Marinette's cheek for a second, then floated away to meet a loudly purring Plagg. The two teenagers’ eyes stayed locked, neither making a move until Marinette chanced a shaky grin. “Hi, Chat.”

And in the restored dining hall, surrounded by memories of pain and a trauma Marinette didn't yet know the cause of, Adrien managed to smile back. “Hi, Marinette.”

**Author's Note:**

> Because I watched the Christmas special and thought the scenario needed more angst. Can you believe I originally planned this to be Ladrien fluff, with a side of my favorite trope, Adrien crying? Hopefully whatever the hell this turned into was enjoyable! Kudos and comments are always appreciated, and if you want to talk more come find me on [ my tumblr](http://theoncomingcroat.tumblr.com/).


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